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Greenspeed to Chase Speed Record for Petroleum Fueled Trucks Using Vegetable Oil

This August, Boise State University's student club Greenspeed will use vegetable oil in hope of breaking the existing 215-mph world land speed record for all vehicles in the diesel truck classification, including those that burn traditional fuel.

Their first attempt will be during Speedweek at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Greenspeed's souped-up 1998 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck shattered the existing 98-mph record for vegetable oil-fueled vehicles in November with a run of 139 mph on a dry lake bed called El Mirage in the Mojave Desert at a Southern California Timing Association race. The next day, the team broke its own record with a run of 155 mph.

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The project was designed to demonstrate the potential of vegetable oil as an alternative to traditional petroleum fuel products.

"Greenspeed is leading by example to show that you don't have to sacrifice performance for sustainability," says Mark Rudin, vice president for research and economic development at Boise State. "A truck that goes 200 mph on vegetable oil is hardly a practical machine, but it plays a critical role in dispelling persistent myths that there is something magical or special about petroleum. Sustainable fuels can be good fuels."